> Message: 13 > From: Michael Peligro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > http://www.mosfet.org/ > http://www.mosfet.org/fss.html > > Is this really true? Thoughts?
<QUOTE>"It seems most Linux distributions, starting with RedHat, have used the File System Standard to forget how to use subdirectories to organize files. Hundreds of applications now routinely get installed in one directory, /usr, making it nearly impossible to tell what is on your system or do basic system management using the standard Linux tools. You have to use the package manager. Typical Linux systems have over 2,000 programs sitting in one directory: /usr/bin. This is obscene."</QUOTE> More obscene would be to have an insanely long PATH variable. Slackware makes it very easy to pinpoint which files belong to which package by putting all the relevant info in /var/adm/packages. 'grep' and 'find' are all you need to query this 'database' which contains info on *every single file and package* in the system (with the exception of those in /proc and /dev maybe). No requirement to learn a complicated package system and its proprietary commands; from my experience these tend to add only grief and not value. <QUOTE>"It's RH's right to do this to KDE! As for the second point, that KDE is free software and RH can do whatever it wants to it, this is also a very unhealthy attitude for people to take ...<snip>... Linux distributions are not just normal Linux users who can do whatever they want. They are depended upon by both free software developers and their users to deliver free software reasonably intact. RH has broke this trust many times, with a GCC that couldn't even compile the kernel or many other Linux apps, and now with KDE. This disrespect of various projects has caused many problems with RH. People feel like, 'why work on free software if RH is just going to screw it up'?" </QUOTE> I have to say that RH is not legally bound to do anything about it and that they do have the *right* to do it. It's more a question of "Are they acting within the _spirit_ of the Linux community?" If one feels strongly enough and has no other recourse, then one is always FREE to JUST SAY NO to RH (and derivatives) like they would to Windows. Another alternative would be for free software developers, if they so wish, to stop using the GPL in favor of a license that is still open source but would allow them greater control over how their creations are released and distributed. GNU propaganda notwithstanding, there really is nothing holy or special about the GPL that makes it inherently superior to other open source licenses. In fact, quite a few have commented that because it tries to be so complicated and lays down so many conditions, it tends to have a lot of holes. <QUOTE>"...Second of all a few angry people questioned my qualifications to make the above commentary, and one person even called me a novice!" </QUOTE> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Hmm... reminds me of a poster here in PLUG... I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be one and the same person :-). If you can't get someone to agree with you but are at a loss for good arguments then resort to the bum tactic of calling them a novice (in a desperate effort to 'appear' smarter than them, I might add). Wears thin quickly. _ Philippine Linux Users Group. Web site and archives at http://plug.linux.org.ph To leave: send "unsubscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fully Searchable Archives With Friendly Web Interface at http://marc.free.net.ph To subscribe to the Linux Newbies' List: send "subscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
